Using Online Databasing to Unlock the Full Value of Environmental Impact Assessments

Government agencies are often required to conduct some form of environmental impact assessment (EIA) before approving a major project or proposal. The documents generated during these assessments contain a wealth of information about baseline environmental conditions, impact assessment methodologies, predicted impacts, and mitigation measures, among other things. Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) are now routinely posted on online databases as searchable PDFs, which is a vast improvement over hard copy circulation. These databases make it easier to find and download specific documents, but they are limited in scope and they lack certain features that would make it much easier to aggregate and synthesize information across multiple documents, such as a full text search feature. This paper considers how a multi-disciplinary research community can build upon these efforts to further enhance online access to EIA documents and make it easier for the public to use the information contained in those documents.